Despite more in treatment, almost 40% of women don't seek help at all, silenced by stigma and shame. The number of women in treatment has doubled in five years, to 2,400, as adverts for casino and bingo sites flood smartphones with promises of jackpots and communities. It was the same buzz I got, at 18, when I started on betting machines.” Stacey, now more than two years into her recovery, is among one million women in Britain who find themselves at risk from gambling harms - debt, physical and mental health problems, relationship breakdowns, crime - according to new analysis by the charity, GambleAware. It was incredibly dangerous - it was also the first sign I was susceptible to addiction.”Ī three year battle with anorexia followed: “I got a buzz from seeing a loss on the scales, from winning the bet.
“We looked in the mirror and bet on who could lose the most weight over Christmas.
“I was 14 and getting ready to go out,” remembers the 29-year-old who spent almost a decade of her life addicted to slot machines and online gambling.
Stacey Goodwin’s first bet was as a teenager, in the bathroom of a friend’s house. TW: Gambling, addiction, eating disorders and attempted suicide.
